Type-writer cleaner



(No Mode1.) lW. R. SWARTWOUT.

, 'YTYVPR WRITER GLRANRR. No' 541892 Patented July v.2, 1895.

NITRD STATRs PATENTV OFFICE.

wAL'rER R. swARrwouT, or cIIICAeo, ILLINOIS.

TYPE-WRITER CLEANER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 541,892, dated .uly' 2,1895. i

Application filed January 19, 1895. Serial No. 535,486. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, WALTER R. SWARTWOUT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Type-Writer Cleaners,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to devices for cleaning the type of typewriters andhas .for its object to provide a convenient and simple device wherebythe type of an ordinary typewriter may be readily cleaned. It isillustrated in the accompanying drawings where I have shown one form ofmy invention.

Figure l is a sectional view through the device with the parts shown intwo positions by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a plan view.

Like parts are indicated by the same letter in both the figures.

A A are the type bars; B, the type at lower end thereof.

C isa brush body having the brush bristles D D thereon, and for anordinary Remington typewriter it would be substantially of the shapeshown, though of course it will be understood that the brush mustconform in shape to the arrangement of the type which are to becleaned.` I mean by arrangement the position which they assume when atrest.

E is a washer rigid on the rod F which carries the handle Gr. The lowerend of the rod is rigid to the body of the brush. Beneath the washer Eis the spiral spring I-I, and beneath that a plate .I from which radiateorto which are secured the arms K K, which pass out toward the margin ofthe brush and there are downwardly turned at L and are formed into orare secured toa guard rail M which passes wholly or partially about thebrush, as occasion may require.

Of course the form and arrangement of the several parts can be greatlyaltered; but I have endeavored to show the best form as I now understandit, and having particular reference to a Remington typewriter.

B is the support against which the type normally rest.

The use and operation of my invention in the form shown are as follows:The brush shaped as indicated, and when used with a Remingtontypewriter, is provided with a the.

guard rail which projects only at the side of the brush, and which ispreferably in close proximity to the lower outer edge of the bristlesurface. The device is forced down into the pit or space between thetypebars, the carriage having been tilted back. The arrangement of the guardrails is such that they will engage the severaitype at or near thejunction of the type with the bar, and they will do this at about themoment when the lower portion of the bristle surface engages such type.`The handle may now be raised and lowered rapidly and the bristle surfacewill pass over the exposed surfaces of the type, thus cleaning thelnfrom dust and dirt. All the time theyare held in position by the guardrail, which presses upon them elastically. When the brush is sought tobe removed, were it not for the guard rail, there would be a strongtendency of the bristles to press the type upward and thus bend andtwist them and the bars to which they are attached. This action isentirely prevented by the guard rail,which holds the typedownelastically until the brush has been practically freed from the face ofthe type. The guard rail need not be exactly as shownor constructed, butI tind that it works best in the form indicated. In the case of sometypewriters where all the bars are inclined, the guard rail shouldextend around the brush. The form and configuration of the brush must ofcourse vary according to the particular machine; and in the case of somemachines where there are cross bars, the brush might have to be madesectional or otherwise in order to get it into position. These aredetails, however, with which I am not at this moment busying myself, thegeneral principle of myinvention being here set forth and sufficientlyillustrated in connection with a brush adapted for use on the Remingtonmachine.

l. In a typewriter cleaner the combination of a brush shaped to conformto the 'ligure made by the type when in a position of rest, with ahandle for moving such brush across the face of the type, and a guardrail which bears against the face of the type bars.

2. In a typewriter cleaner the combination of a brush of a shape toconform to the figure made by the type when at rest, with a guard IOOrail elastically connected with the-brush, and

a handle adapted to move the brush back and forth While the guard railis at rest against the a handle adapted to move the brush back and forthwhile the guard rail is at rest against the Io type bars, said guardrail lying in close proxtype bars. imity to the lower edge of the brush.

5 3. In a typewriter cleaner the combination WALTER R. SWARTWOUT.

of a brush of a shape to conform to the figure Witnesses: made by thetype when at rest, with a guard DONALD M. CARTER,

rail eiastically connected with the brush, and JNO. H. COULTER.

